Phone Screen: They took my application very quickly and set up the phone screen the next day. Standard introductory call with a recruiter. Got told that they highly value their employee referrals which is how my application got fast-tracked through the system. Went over the job description, resume and the Ladder interview process. Technical Interview: 60 minute online interview with a member of the team. Went through a technical question in my language of choice. The question was specifically designed to be open ended and not just a LeetCode-style exercise to get the "right" answer. Worked through the problem and follow-up questions in the allotted time and then Q&A at the end. Time passes and follow up my emails are ignored. Noticed that the job posting was taken down and I find out that the company had hired someone else already. Not even enough professional courtesy to send a canned rejection email.

I applied online. Within a week, I got an interview for a phone screen. I spoke to an outside recruiter who was working on behalf of Ladder. She shared details about the company and role and asked questions about me. Nothing out of ordinary. A few days later, I received an automated rejection email. No feedback, no reason why I was rejected, no hint of personalization, it didn't even come from the person I talked to, but from a basic no-reply email address. Next time, just reject the candidate after receiving the application instead of wasting both our times. Unless they fix their candidate experience, I will not apply to this company ever again, which is a first for me. I recommend others to not apply and actively avoid unless they want to be treated similarly as a candidate and potential employee.